Samsung Galaxy S6 Vs. HTC M9: Which One Is Right For You?

Although Samsung has been praised for its improved hardware, much of what I like is in the software — specifically, what’s not in it. Ltd. has taken an adversarial approach in its advertising, portraying fans of Apple Inc. as glorified lemmings, loyal to the brand not because they “think different” but because they are conformists. The Samsung Galaxy S6 will be available at Rs 49,900 (32 GB), Rs 55,900 (64GB), Rs 61,900 (128GB) while the Galaxy S6 Edge costs Rs 58,900 (32 GB), Rs 64,900 (64 GB) and Rs 70,900 (128 GB). But now, on the verge of a critically important product launch, Samsung Canada is hoping to convince people to join its lineup – for days, not hours.

The idea behind the campaign is one that has become widespread in adland: Among the most valuable things brands can do to gain influence is to get regular people to do the advertising for them. That said, the Edge version doesn’t feel as slippery, perhaps because I’m gripping the back part tighter given that the screen curves halfway down the sides. A study from analytics firm Chartbeat last year found that people were much more likely to pay attention to tweets that are written by third parties – regular people – than brands promoting themselves. Another study by Veritas Communications and Northstar found that brand endorsements coming from friends and family have double the influence on Canadians’ decisions than any other source.

It will also feature the top six avatars in the lineup on an 80-foot digital display at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, and on billboards in Vancouver and Montreal. At night, they’ll take out their sleeping bags. “Social and digital is a critical part of engaging millennials,” said Mark Childs, chief marketing officer at Samsung Canada. “… They’re living their lives online, socially. According to research firm Gartner, in the fourth quarter last year, Apple smartphones outsold Samsung worldwide for the first time since 2011, with 74.83 million phones sold compared with Samsung’s 73.03 million.

That follows disappointing performance of its recent models the S4 and the S5 compared to the S3, he added. “It used to be that Samsung would gleefully provide the market with ‘We did X-million units of our Galaxy device.’ They’ve stopped that. Childs said. “The intention of the advertising is to deliver on that. … It’s much more a digital conversation than a campaign.” Aggressive marketing has helped Samsung gain ground in recent years: Apple and Samsung are number one and two in a list of the top global brands, according to consultancy Brand Finance PLC, which calculates a dollar value for marketing efforts such as trademarks, intellectual property rights, and brand perception.

On S6 phones, it simply says “SEARCH.” Same goes for controls such as “EDIT” and “MORE.” This applies only to Samsung features and apps, though. The value that Apple’s handsets contributed to that total passed $50-billion last year, while Samsung’s was $31-billion. “When they pursued a very consumer-facing strategy, Samsung’s brand value more than doubled in the past four years,” said Edgar Baum, managing director of Brand Finance North America. “As the handset environment has become more diverse, and competitive, it’s Samsung that’s been losing, not Apple. Both models come with a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone and, when Samsung Pay launches later this year, making payments with a tap of the phone at retail stores.